


I Guess You're Right

by TheJoxter666



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Friends to Lovers, Gaming, M/M, Mavin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 11:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1939332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJoxter666/pseuds/TheJoxter666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin Free's spending senior year in Austin Texas, which is a big step from the tiny town of Thame in Oxfordshire, England. He has great host parents and really cool friends, but one stands out, and it's none other than Michael Jones. Gavin isn't sure about him at first, but Michael certainly clings to his newly acquired british friend. Gavin's not quite sure why, but as they grow closer, Michael builds up the courage to reveal his secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Michael Jones, AKA Beanie Kid

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic! I wanted to make Gavin the one who's a little oblivious.. I don't know how well it plays into his character, we'll just have to see..

It was Gavin David Free's first day at his new school. He was what could be described as excited, but speaking truthfully, was really beyond scared. His first three years of high school had been had in the UK, and as a senior and seventeen year old, he was spending his fourth and final year in the US. He had very eagerly signed up for the exchange program, and been shipped off earlier that summer, to meet his host parents, Griffon and Geoff. They were very nice people (even more lax than his real parents) and his time in Austin had been just fantastic (if not a little hot), but that didn't change that now, looking up at the two story brick building in front of him, several chills ran down his spine. What if he couldn't make friends? What if they made fun of his accent? What his teachers hated him? Or he hated them? Gavin just smiled, and repeated what Griffon had told him that morning: "it'll all work out for the best. You got this, kid," as he pushed through the teal doors.

The slip of paper in his hands told him his locker was locker number 132, which was on the first floor. It also told him what all of his classes were, from first period, to seventh period, from Monday to Friday. He tucked it away into his pocket, and attempted to forge onward through the crowd of students, towards his first period class: economics. That was room 217, which, to his understanding, was on the second floor. However, it was definitely going to take some exploring to find the right room each period. He set off in the general direction he believed it to be in, and with three minutes to spare, ended up finding room 217. No one was sitting down, though. Instead, they were lined up against the walls. Some were chatting with friends, others on their smart phones. One girl was petting what looked to be a rat, and Gavin pretended to not have seen it poke its furry nose out of her pocket. He just minded his own business, until about four minutes after class was supposed to start, when the economics teacher finally decided to actually begin class.

"Hello and good morning. Sorry, I had some work to finish up, but we can begin now." she smiled, flashing crooked teeth. "As most of you know, I'm Mrs. Berkley. A lot of you had me last year for social studies, however, this year I'm teaching this class instead. Now, when I call your name and point to a seat, you will sit there, and no where else. Understand?" She waited until everyone was nodding, and then started reading names off her attendance chart, seemingly at random, while pointing at different seats. When Gavin finally heard his name called, there were a few snickers, and he sat down next to a cute blond girl and some stubby kid in a beanie. Or, at least, he was wearing a beanie until mrs Berkley hit it off of his head with her yard stick. Gavin couldn't help but laugh, but the kid shot him a death glare, and he looked back up at the front.  
"I thought it would be good to do a get to know you exercise today, even though I know most of you, and most of you know each other. You never know what'll come out, even in your final year at this school." She started handing out papers. "This is all we'll do today, but just know that tomorrow, like the rest of the year, we will do actual work." 

"Is she always this crazy," Gavin said to his table mates, trying to talk quietly enough she couldn't hear him. Although the blond girl just ignored him, paying more attention to her gum than Gavin, the curly haired boy chuckled at that, and said

"Yeah. She kinda is. She's the old crazy one you need to look out for." He made a spiral motion with his finger on one hand, and pointed to her with the other. Gavin smiled, and started to fill out his worksheet. "Hi, I'm Michael. I'm kinda the coolest guy you'll ever meet." At that, the blond girl laughed. Michael and Gavin simultaneously rolled their eyes, and Gavin offered Michael his hand.

"I'm Gavin Free. I just moved here in July, from the UK."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Free." The boy Gavin now knew as Michael was blushing slightly, and he wasn't quite sure why, but he felt like he could get to like this kid.   
They sparked up a conversation involving their favorite YouTube channels, whether they liked Xbox or PS3 (both deciding on Xbox), and what new games they were excited for this fall. They were actually both slightly upset when the period had to come to an end after 40 minutes of them talking. "You can sit with me and my friends at lunch," Michael offered to Gavin, as they exited the classroom. "Ya know, cause no one else would want to sit by you." Gavin made a fake sad face, and Michael lightly pushed him and laughed, as he was joking. Gavin knew from that point onward, they'd be great friends, even if Michael was somewhat odd when it came to expressing it. 

"Sounds top. See you then, Michael." Gavin turned and walked in the direction he believed his English class to be in, and he left Michael daydreaming about the cute Brit, with the prettiest green eyes, as he was just left wondering what these so called "friends" of Michael were like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Another 50 or so minutes later, Gavin emerged from English class with no more knowledge or friendships than he had entered with. What he had managed to gain was his first homework assignment of the year, and a newfound dislike for English class. He had one more period to go before lunch, which was Spanish, a class he had never taken before. On his way to the classroom, he managed to bump into the beanie kid again. This time he was talking to a scrawny black haired kid with thick-rimmed glasses. Gavin, trying to be polite, waved, and Michael and scrawny kid came up to greet him.   
"Hello again." Michael smiled. "This is my dear friend Ray," Ray and Gavin shook hands. "And Ray, this is a nose which a Brit named Gavin just happens to be attached to." Ray found this amusing, while Gavin just managed to blush an impressive shade of bright red. 

"You dick," Gavin said, smiling. "Well, my nose and I need to escort ourselves to Spanish, so adios." He turned (albeit in the wrong direction) before Ray spoke up.

"Oh, I can do that." Ray jumped in. "I haven't learned jackshit over my three years at this school, so I'm still in beginner Spanish. We can walk to class together." Gavin just nodded and waved at Michael, who was doing that weird blushing thing again, and   
walked towards room 103 with his new friend Ray.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Spanish with Ray was fun. Their teacher, Senora Desantis, had spoken mostly in English the entire time, but warned them that that wouldn’t be the case for the remainder of the year. People learned to introduce themselves, and did introduce themselves with the simple phrases they learned, such as “Me llamo” and “Me gusta”. Ray and Gavin had both said “me gusta videojuegos” after Gavin had asked how to say “Slow motion cinematography” and not even the teacher had known how to say that. They also sang a goofy song called “Me llamo Miguel,” which just further cemented the ideas that they had just learned. Gavin and Ray also got to know each other a little better, even if Senora Desantis yelled at them for speaking in English (even though neither really spoke Spanish well, or at all). Gavin told Ray about his time here in Austin, and he juxtaposed it with his time in England. Ray told him about all the great places to eat, where to hang out, where the closest GameStop was, and everything Gavin should know, especially if he was going to be staying here long. However, Gavin wasn’t sure if he was. He was at least staying half a year, but his parents had made it up to him to decide whether he wanted to stay the full year or not. Gavin had only been worried about it because he didn’t know how lovely his host parents were going to be, or how quickly he was going to make friends. The discussion he was currently having with Ray, though, was reassuring him that staying the full year here in Texas not only wasn’t going to be a problem, but that he was going to enjoy it. 

The conversation carried on like this, them discussing cultural differences, until Ray shifted the topic slightly. “So, how do you like Michael?” This caught Gavin slightly off guard, as he wasn’t exactly sure what importance Michael had to their current conversation. He just simply replied:

“Oh, beanie kid? Yeah, he seems alright.” Gavin wasn’t sure what Ray was expecting. It was his first day here. He didn’t know Michael all that well. So, he just kinda smiled and nodded before he stood up from his seat to get to his locker before lunch.


	2. Making Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gavin meets the rest of the crew, and thinks about Michael..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing takes a long time.. I also keep almost plagiarizing.. I swear I'll finish chapters three and four soon enough, after I'm done being distracted by OITNB. ;)

The cafeteria was positively crowded, or at least, selectively so. The amount of students filling the room was definitely great in number, yet some tables still remained clear save for one or two students. Gavin wasn’t surprised by this at all. It had been the same way in England, and he assumed elsewhere as well. Even if there weren’t “popular kids” there were still groups and “cliques” and Gavin was glad that even on his first day, he didn’t have to be one of the loners eating a cold sandwich in the corner without any friends to talk to. As he clutched his brown paper bag to his chest, he finished scanning the cafeteria to locate “his” table. It was in the middle of the lunch-room, slightly towards the right. Ray caught his eye, and he waved at him, and subsequently at Michael, and started heading over to sit down.

"Hey." Gavin said with a quick wave, plopping himself down in the empty space next to Michael and across from Ray. He started pulling various items out of his crumpled up bag, before being interrupted by Ray's interjection,

"I think we have something that needs to be addressed here," not only did he stand up, but he also hit a plastic spoon against his chocolate milk carton as if giving a speech. The red head to the left of Ray snickered at this. "A very special guest is joining us from England today. His name, sir Gavino Free!" Ray finished his little spiel, pointing to Gavin who, again, just smiled and did a little wave. The several people sitting around them started clapping, and Ray sat down once more, to continue tending to his sandwich. At this point people decided to introduce themselves to Gavin. He learned the red head's name was Lindsay, and that the other (blond) girl was called Barbara. He also made his acquaintances with two guys who were named Chris and Miles. They all seemed like pretty nice People, and Gavin gave them all the short version of who he was and why he was here in Austin.

After that though, no one really paid attention to Gavin. At least, not any more attention than was being payed to anyone else. So, Gavin turned to face Michael.

"So, that was some orientation."  
Michael smiled, finished chewing his mouthful of whatever it was the school had fed him today, and replied: "Yeah, Ray's a pretty huge dork. He gets a hard-on just from playing Call of Duty." 

"Just because I can actually play video games, unlike you guys, doesn't mean I jack off to them." Ray retorted as Gavin and the others just laughed.

"Well, the armor and outfits given to women in video games really don't leave much to the imagination." Lindsay piped up, and if Gavin wasn't mistaken, Miles had replied with a 

"True dat."  
More chuckling ensued, and Michael slapped a hand on Gavin's back. They both stopped laughing and just kind of looked at each other for a little bit, Gavin noting Michael's faint freckles, and Michael noticing how spectacularly green Gavin's eyes were. 

"I don't mean to break up your little gay love moment here, guys" Barbara started, and both Gavin and Michael looked away sheepishly, but only Gavin laughed, as Barbara continued, "but I would like to propose something." Everyone was turned to look at her, as she spoke. "All y'all, including the newbie Gavin, are invited to my house this Friday, after school. It'll be our first hangout session of our final year here."

"Also, Barbara's house always has the best food." Lindsay added, shrugging. It was agreed, and plans were set. Miles and Chris were both definitely coming, Ray was too. Michael said he'd see, and Gavin said he didn't see why there'd be any problem with that. He was sure Geoff and Griffon would understand. He'd made new friends. They'd be happy for him.

Plus, Gavin already felt as though he belonged with these people, even if he had just met them all today. He believed they liked him too. Or, at least he hoped so, as he pulled a sandwich out of it’s Ziploc baggie and started tentatively nibbling on the edges. He and Ray had really hit it off, and Michael was acting as if they were best friends and had been for years. He guessed that was just the way that Michael was. Gavin didn’t mind it, it was just kind of odd how attached Michael seemed to be to him. Either way, Gavin smirked as he finished off his Pb&j and in his mind he confirmed, to himself, once again, he was going to like living here. He had made pretty amazing friends, as far as he could tell, and this was only on the first day. He'd never expected life here to be this great. He did miss his parents, and his best friend Dan, but he didn't think that was going to be a problem when he had these spectacular new friends, and the Ramseys. Speaking of which, he couldn't wait to tell Geoff and Griffon about his first day at school, even though the bell for the lunch period to be over was just now sounding, and he still had half a school day left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gavin suffered through chemistry, math and technology. Miles was in his sixth period math, but he was seated all the way across the room from him. Also, math, it seemed, was the only class where they did any actual work. The first day back from a long -and exhausting, even- summer was not an ideal day to have a bunch of pre cal thrown at him. Lastly, he got a homework assignment of a whole unit, along with a promise of “more where that came from”. This was to be expected from school though, and Gavin just grimaced slightly before stuffing it into his binder and packing up to move onto his seventh period: History. This was something Gavin could get into. He may have seemed like a little bit of an idiot, and sometimes he was, but when it came to history it was a completely different story. 

"Hey Gavin!" A familiar voice called out from around the middle of the classroom. Gavin turned his head slightly, just to lay eyes upon Michael, the kid he had met earlier smiling back at him. He smirked, and stalked over to to the table that held the beanie kid and his binder, and plopped down across from him. 

"Well hello, Mr. Jones." Gavin put his backpack on the back of his chair, hanging it lazily from one strap. "It's almost as if you've been saving this seat for me!"

"But of course! I..Want to make you feel at home." Michael put his feet up on the chair next to him, and was pretending to pose seductively, as Gavin laughed so hard he snorted. He then proceeded to blush, as he was slightly embarrassed by the noise he had just made. Michael just marveled at how nice Gavin looked, smiling with flushed cheeks, and sparkling eyes, before they were both caught off guard as the teacher, who was now standing right behind Michael, said,

"Michael, I would kindly appreciate if you and Mr Free here would wait until after my class to flirt with each other." Michael realized he was still in the paint-me-like-one-of-your-French-girls pose, and quickly corrected himself before mumbling "yes sir."

"Thank you." He walked back to the front of the classroom. "As I was saying, the green sheet you'll see in front of you conta-" his voice trailed off in Gavin's head. It was unusual for him to not pay attention in his favorite subject, but this wasn't really history. Mr. Xavier was just explaining the curriculum and rules of the class. Plus, Gavin had other things on his mind. Namely, Michael. He was thinking about how awesome it was he had made new friends, and how he'd get to know them even better on Friday. He was excited for that, and he was thinking about how easy it would make the whole school year, having this cool group of people to hang out with, but he was mostly thinking about Michael. He didn't think there was any reason, as Michael was just some kid he'd happened to meet. Michael was just your run of the mill Texan, he supposed, and yet there was something fascinating about him, Gavin thought, as his eyes grazed over Michael's hazelnut hair. Michael jones just seemed special.


	3. Gavin, you big dork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gavin lounges around at home, and gets excited about Barbara's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is kinda short, but I was on vacation, so I was busy relaxing, not writing. Also, I'm already half way done with chapter four.

Although his first day was a breeze, Gavin was relieved, as he popped off his Chuck Taylors, threw down his backpack and sagged into the couch. He was finally home. Well, his home away from home, and he could just relax, and be himself. He was reaching for the TV remote, when Griffon walked in from the kitchen. “Hey Gav,” she said, sitting down on the couch with him. In her hand she held a plate with some cheese and crackers, and she placed it down on the coffee table.

“Hey,” was all Gavin responded. He turned on the TV, and a sweaty news anchor with a comb over started blathering through the screen at him. Gavin reached for the plate, and put some cheese on a cracker before putting it in his mouth. He then went to pick up the remote again, to flip channels, but he was interrupted.

“Really?” Griffon crossed her arms, feigning disappointment.

“What?” Gavin asked, cracker crumbs spewing from his mouth as he spoke.

“It was your first day of American high school!” Griffon beamed at him. “You’re really saying you have nothing to say about it, but ‘hey’?” Gavin laughed at that last bit, because Griffon had lowered her voice, and made a weird face, mocking Gavin.

“Well, yeah, but I mean, you need to give me time to decompress. I’m a teenage boy.” Gavin said, now flipping channels, and looking at the TV screen, instead of Griffon.

“Fine.” Griffon stood up. “I get it. You’d die if you went a day without TV.” She started heading towards the kitchen, but turned to face him again. “But I expect you to tell Geoff and I more about it over dinner tonight, young man.” Gavin looked up at her and smiled.

“Yeah. Of course.” Gavin said, watching what appeared to be a re-run of X-men Evolution. “Speaking of which, when does Geoff get back.”

“He should be back from his meeting with the guys in around..one and a half, two hours tops?” She called from the kitchen.

“Okay.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was around six o clock when Geoff got home. Gavin had just been faffing about, waiting for dinner, and for Geoff to show up. He had been at a meeting with Burnie and Gus, and some other guys, at his new job. Gavin hadn’t been told much about it yet. What he knew was just that. The guys had gotten together and created some sort of company, and with Geoff being one of it’s founders, he spent a lot of his time there. He had also assured Gavin he'd tell him more about it later, but later hadn’t come yet. 

So, Gavin had just been watching some reruns on TV, before heading up to his room to play a couple of games on his Xbox. Now that Geoff was home, he turned it off, and started to leave his room, right as griffon called him down for dinner. "Coming," he had yelled back, before jogging downstairs to meet up with Griffon and Geoff.

After the table had been set, and Geoff had mockingly said "grace", they dug in. It was zucchini with pasta, and it was delicious. Of all the things he missed from England, the food was not one of them. Yeah, an occasional fish and chips was good, and he hadn't managed to find Jaffa cakes in the US (at least not in Austin), but Griffon's cooking was so good, none of that mattered. He was about half way done with his meal, as he had been starving before dinner, but Griffon interrupted him.

"So, Gavin," Griffon looked up from her zucchini, and over at Gavin. He just looked back at her, expecting her to say something more, but she just sat still, looking at Gavin. It seemed she was waiting for him to answer her unspoken question.

"Right. I know, I know. 'Gavin, how was your first day at school!" This time he was the one mocking Griffon, talking in falsetto, with a bad American accent. Geoff chuckled at that, and Griffon swatted at him, purposefully missing.

"Yeah, Gav. How'd it all go," Geoff asked.

"Hmmm. Well, the classes were really easy. Probably because it was the first day," Geoff and Griffon were nodding, and smiling. "Oh, and I made a great new group of friends," Gavin was grinning as he said that last bit, sparking Griffon's interest even more. 

"Ooh! Tell us more about them!"

"Okay, well there's this one kid named Michael. He's pretty chill. He likes video games, like me, and he yells a lot, but I don't think it's because he's really that angry, because he was actually really nice!"

"Ooh, someone has a crush" Geoff teased him, eliciting a frustrated cluster of noises from Gavin, followed by:

"I do not!!" But Geoff was just kidding, anyway.

"As I was saying," Gavin stopped to add emphasis,and glare at Geoff. "there's Michael, and there's Ray, who's also cool and likes video games. We have Spanish together, so I got to know him pretty well. And then there's the rest, who I didn't get to spend any time with in my classes, but Ray introduced me to everyone at lunch. There's Lindsay, Barbara, Chris and Miles, and that's really it." He was grinning again, and Geoff asked,

"So if you're all such great friends, when are you hanging out?" He was kidding, as it was his first day, and Gavin could tell this when Geoff looked slightly surprised after Gavin responded:

"Does Friday sound good?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday did sound good. 

Gavin wasn't doing much, which was pretty much always the case. He just stayed at home watching TV, or playing Xbox, or filming. He pretty much stayed in the house, at all times. Griffon even said he needed to get a boyfriend, and then she would follow that up with 'or a girlfriend. Geoff and I don't judge', and they would all laugh, as if it was clever the twentieth time it had been said. It was just a little running joke they had. 

Gavin hadn't even actually discussed his sexuality with his host parents, and he supposed they just assumed him to be straight, because it's not really funny to joke about someone being gay when they are. But, Gavin wasn't. As far as he could tell, he was pretty far on the "straight side" of the spectrum, although that did leave room for some bi curious thoughts.

Either way Geoff and Griffon weren't the type of people to hate on anyone. They both had very sarcastic, almost satiric humor, but were never mean. Gavin was grateful for both this, and that his friends seemed to be the same way too. 

He continued spending most of his time with them during school. That week, he found out Lindsay was in his PE, which they both hated, but took because it was required. He sat next to Miles, and marveled at the kid's drawings that framed the pages in his algebra notebook. He also actually got into what could be called an argument, but was really just a discussion, with Ray, about the pith and importance of, and meaning behind fps games. They had agreed to disagree, but Gavin knew he was right, he just didn't feel like angering his new found friend.

Finally he got a strong feeling, or rather, confirmation, that there was something slightly off about Michael Jones. Gavin couldn't tell what it was, but for some reason, the boy seemed to be extra nice to Gavin, while teasing him the most. He guessed it was because he was new and interesting, and so he deserved more attention, both negative and positive, but he really didn't know. He did, however get to like this relationship he had with this Michael kid. He was looking forward to Friday, and when it finally came, just four days later, Gavin could barely contain himself.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" Michael asked him. It was their last period, and knowing that meant it was almost time to go to Barbara's, Gavin was practically vibrating in his seat, he was so excited. He played it off like it was nothing, though.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" Gavin was trying to be nonchalant, but it was difficult with the stupid grin he had plastered on his face.

"I'm not the one having a seizure in my fucking chair!" Michael gestured at Gavin. "Are you really getting that hot and bothered because we're going to Barbara's? Wow, you must have had no friends in England."

"I did too!" Gavin was getting indignant, before Michael said:

"Oh shut up, you big dork. I'm just teasing you, 'cause I like you."


	4. A Long Walk to Barbara's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gavin and Michael walk, talk, and get uncomfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh..This chapter took so long to write.. mostly because I've been working on a different fanfic that I have a lot more inspiration for. Also, I feel it's just kinda awkward...I don't know. Chapter five will be written soon, and it'll make everything better. I hope.

It was hot. Gavin was really wishing he had a car, right about now, sitting on the steps of the school waiting for the rest of the gang. He had to walk home from school most days, which he didn't mind. Although he didn't quite enjoy exercise, a nice walk was no problem. It was the fact that it was still over 9000 degrees here in Austin, and Gavin was dreading even having to stand up, he was so lethargic. However, he did when he heard:

"Hey loser." He turned to see none other than Michael Jones. Gavin smiled up at Michael, as he was offered a hand. He pulled himself up to standing, next to the curly haired boy, and he smiled right back. 

"Hey, sup" was his response, as the both of them now turned to face Barbara, Lindsay, Ray and Miles, who had come out of the school following Michael. "Where's Chris?" Gavin asked of no one in particular, looking around a bit. He wasn't with the group, and it almost didn't look complete without him.

"Oh yeah, he said he'd come on Tuesday.." When Barbara had first brought the idea up, the only person who said they couldn't come was Michael. However, he had done extra chores and convinced his parents to let him go to Barbara's. After that they had called her parents and explained, in depth, what was and wasn't appropriate for their son, and their expectations for him. It had been a topic at the lunch table. Lindsay had even done a mocking impression of Michael's mom.

Now, though, Michael was here, and Chris was no where to be found, and it was 3:23; eight minutes after they were supposed to meet. Barbara was questioning until Lindsay interjected with:

"I saw him sixth period. He said he had to stay after school. Something for economics, I think." She shrugged as she said it.

"Aw, it's that crazy old hag Mrs. Berkeley, innit?" Gavin said, then furrowing his brow, as the group, mostly Michael, laughed at his British colloquialism. 

"Yeah." Barbara giggled, and then got the group going by heading off towards Lindsay's car. "So I assume I'm going with you, Lindsay, Miles and Ray are probably teaming up, and Michael for some reason has to take the high road, and walk" she paused as pretty much everyone nodded in agreement with what Barbara had just said. "Oh, and I guess that just leaves you, Gav. Do you have a car?" She looked expectantly at him.

Gavin shook his head. Geoff and Griffon had one car, and he of course couldn't have brought one from Thame, so he was stuck walking, or hitching a ride with Ray, he supposed. However, before Gavin could ask Ray, Michael said:

"No worries, pal." Michael threw his arm around Gavin's shoulder. "I can walk you, 'cause I can't drive 'cause my parents would never trust me with that much responsibility." He did a big faux winky face, and Gavin smiled and, maybe it was to keep Michael company, or maybe it was because he found the idea intriguing, but he responded with a solid: 

"Let's do it!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“So." Gavin's voice broke the almost silence of the nearly perfect summer day. They had walked a grand total of three blocks from the school so far. He had just started feeling awkward, though. He had actually enjoyed walking in silence for a bit, not because he didn't enjoy talking with Michael, but because he was able to enjoy Michael without talking. Then he had had that exact thought process, and upon the realization of how freaking gay that sounded, had decided to break the (now) awkward silence. "Your parents sound fantastic." Gavin was smirking at Michael, at least as well as Gavin could smirk at that boy.

"Yep. That's them: fan-fucking-tastic." Michael looked down and smiled. "No, really though. They're not that bad. You get used to them, you know?" He looked back up at Gavin, who was smiling and nodding sincerely, even though he didn't really know. "I just have to get out of bed on time, get good grades, go to church on Sunday. Really, it's fine as long as I keep them in the dark." 

Michael just looked at Gavin with a half assed smile, but Gavin wasn't quite sure what he meant by that last part. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked, looking back up at Michael somewhat quizzically.

"Hmm?" Michael just shrugged, and Gavin shook his head,his eyes returning to his sneakers and the concrete they tread upon.

"Never mind. How far away's Barb's place?" Gavin looked at his wrist as if he were wearing a watch (which he wasn't).

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Michael laughed at Gavin. "First of all, you don't even have a fucking watch, secondly, we've walked, like, four fucking blocks! Gavin fucking Free." Michael was now applauding Gavin in a sarcastic manner, even going so far as to wipe a fake tear from his eye. Gavin of course was huffing indignantly, blush spreading across his cheeks. He really wasn't embarrassed, but for some reason Michael just made him feel like he should be. Michael just made Gavin feel kinda goofy, and he couldn't put his finger on why.

"Shut up! I just meant..like..how long until we're there. Where does Barbara live? You know what I meant Michael!" Gavin playfully shoved Michael, and Michael just laughed at Gavin's weak attempt, before shoving him back. Now it was Gavin's turn to laugh, which caused Michael to smile. He had only known Gavin for a total of about four days, but he had already come to admire him so much. He was just watching Gavin, and almost forgot what was going on, and where they were, until Gavin said: "no, really, though."

"Oh, right," Michael responded. There were only nine or so more blocks until they reached Barbara's house, and he told Gavin this, who just nodded in response, before saying:

"So, Barbara's pretty cute." Michael blushed - causing Gavin to wonder what was with this boy and his blushing - and then looked down at his feet.

"Yeah, I mean, I guess." Michael looked even further away from Gavin, if that was possible.

"What? You don't think so?" Gavin looked somewhat quizzically at Michael.

"She's just not really my type." Michael looked up at Gavin, now, shrugging. He didn't dare say what he thought, though, which was 'because she's not a dude'. Michael just accepted that he was gay and his friends didn't know about it. Until now, in fact, he hadn't even seen a reason why it was relevant to anyone, except himself. They just assumed he was a late bloomer, and had never had a girlfriend because of that.Yet, now, as he stared into Gavin's eyes it hurt to talk about this. About girls. 

"What is your type?" Gavin asked, oblivious to Michael's inner turmoil at the moment. He just nonchalantly nudged Michael, looking at him expectantly. Michael looked down at his feet, and how they carried him over the concrete beneath them, and he wondered how much longer until they reached Barbara’s. He knew he couldn’t stall that long, though.

“I don’t know, dude..” He shrugged again, blushing this time. He still wasn’t looking at Gavin, who was getting a little impatient. He didn’t think it was that difficult of a question, so why was Michael getting a little sweaty and pulling at his shirt collar. What was up? “I guess I’ve never really thought about it.” Michael raised his intonation a little at the end of his sentence, almost as if was supposed to be a question. He was lying, of course. “His type” was staring right back at him, he just didn’t want to have to acknowledge it; the fact that he was gay. 

He especially didn’t want to have to tell Gavin. He really did like him, and was worried he might scare him off if he told him about something like that. Most (heterosexual) guys were kind of deterred when it came to befriending gay guys, or at least that’s what Michael thought. The only person Michael had told was Ray, and Ray was cool with it, but that didn’t mean anyone else would be. It would be kind of weird to have your best guy friend crushing on you. So instead, he lied.

“What? Have you never had a girlfriend or anything,” Gavin asked Michael, sounding truly confused that that could happen. Michael just shook his head in response. “Weird.” Gavin looked away from Michael, seeming pensive. Really, Gavin didn’t think it was that weird for someone not have had a girlfriend, he just thought it was weird for Michael.

“Why?” Michael asked. He genuinely wanted to know. Yeah, most people had had at least one girlfriend or boyfriend by his age, but it’s not like it was weird if people don’t. “Why should I have had a girlfriend?” 

Michael was honestly a little indignant. He knew Gavin didn’t know about his.. preferences, but still. He felt like Gavin was almost saying that Michael should date girls. So, when Gavin said, “I don’t know. I guess I just kinda assumed a guy like you would get a lot of dates,” it caught Michael off guard.

“What?” He sputtered out, turning to look at Gavin.

“What,” Gavin asked. “I just mean you’re a really cool guy, and any girl would be lucky to be with you, Michael.” When Gavin finished speaking he simply smiled at Michael, which although it didn’t seem like much to Gavin, it meant a lot to Michael. Gavin experienced a lot of shallow emotions, and he smiled a lot, but this smile was different. It was as if it was a deep, genuine smile, and it just entirely brightened up Michael’s mood, and erased his worries. It seemed Gavin just sort of had that effect on him.

“Oh.” Michael smiled back, allowing his muscles to relax. He then laughed, and said, “Well of course. I just reject a lot of people, because no one’s good enough for this.” Michael flexed, and kissed his bicep.

Gavin laughed at that, and he kept laughing up the stairs to Barbara’s house.


	5. Thinking about you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gavin realizes what he has, and what he no longer has.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been a while since I wrote chapter four.. oops..

“Hey, you showed up!” Barbara hugged both Michael and Gavin at the door, smiling. Michael looked slightly confused and without really thinking, shot back with: 

“What’d you think? We stopped in the creepy alleyway behind the seven eleven to suck each other off?” Michael shook his head at Barbara, almost mockingly, as she and Gavin just laughed about it. Michael was certainly a colorful character, Gavin mused to himself, while also checking out Barbara's house.

"Nice place you got here, Barb." Gavin said, smiling. She had one of those sort of houses that just seemed to have extra attention to detail, both in its construction, and in its decoration. The ceiling concaved upwards, encircled with white dots and spirals and fleurs de lis. Artwork hung on the walls, sat on the mantle, and some even rested in piles on the table. 

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty awesome." She put her hand on her chin, and looked thoughtfully around the room before smirking. "Anyway, the guys are in the back. If you want, there's soda in the fridge, and we're gonna have pizza later. My mom's upstairs working, so probably don't go up there." She gestured towards the large oak staircase to her left. "Yeah, I think that's it. You have now been fully initiated, Gavin." Barbara waved her arms around Gavin as if casting a spell on him.

"Awesome!" Gavin said, laughing, as the three of them started to head back through her large dining room, to the small hallway that lead to her 'tv' room. 

The room itself was pretty big. It had two couches, several chairs, a ping pong table, a mini fridge, and a tv which had an Xbox set up next to it. Ray and Miles were playing what seemed to be a pretty intense version of ping pong, with two balls in play, and Ray’s failed attempts at fancy tricks. Lindsay was sitting on the couch watching Chris blow things up (mostly himself) in GTA, however she sprung up when Michael and Gavin walked in through the door.

“Michael!” Lindsay greeted Michael by hugging him, which wasn’t surprising at all to Michael, as they had always been pretty close, and Lindsay was just a really friendly person. However, Michael was also a pretty sarcastic person.

“Dude, chill,” he said, jokingly pushing Lindsay away from him. “It’s like you can’t get enough of me.” Lindsay laughed in a really bubbly way, that made Gavin wonder if there was something more than just friendship between the two. There wasn’t, of course. Michael and Lindsay had just been great friends, from the day they met, and Michael thought she had the most beautiful smile, to the day she had asked him out, which had just further confirmed in his mind that if he couldn’t like a girl as great as Lindsay, he must be gay, to now, their senior year of high school. Lindsay smiled at him and sat back down beside Chris, to watch him try and escape the cops.

Michael went to follow Lindsay, and sit down on the couch too, to strike up a conversation, when Gavin spoke up.

“What’s with his special welcome,” he asked, gesturing at Lindsay. “And I don’t get so much as a hello?”

Lindsay was about to sarcastically apologize, and address Gavin as her old friend, when Barbara pushed past him with a bowl of chips in her hands.

“Oh don’t mind them, they’re just flirting,” Barbara teased. And after she did so, Gavin noticed Ray look up from playing ping pong, to give Michael an oddly sympathetic look. Michael just looked very vaguely annoyed, not necessarily at Ray. Gavin didn’t make much of it.

“So, what’s on the agenda, pals?” He sat down on the floor in front of the couch that was facing the tv.  
After they had pried the Xbox controller out of Chris’ hands, the gang just sat around watching tv and talking mostly. Although, there wasn’t anything good on, at least that they could agree on, so they ended up watching crappy daytime television. It was okay, though, because they provided commentary, and and laughed at how bad the shows were. 

Ray and Miles had quit their game of ping pong when Barbara yelled at them, because Ray was trying out an especially complicated move, and had just ended up chucking the paddle across the room, almost breaking a window. Although it had narrowly missed the window, and hit the wall instead, Barbara sounded pretty serious, and Ray didn’t want to risk anything.

So they all just sat around mocking the crappy acting and poor filming quality, until they had decided to turn off the tv, and just talk. After all, they had a lot to recap, it being the first weekend of the school year. They had to talk about summer, and their classes this year, they probed Gavin about England, and discussed upcoming events and plans for this year.

Gavin was having a lot of fun. He got to know his new friends a little better, and they got to know all about him. He felt like he could get really close to a group of friends like this. Back in England he had really only had the one, and it felt great now, to be surrounded by people his age, who shared the same interests.

Even if those people weren’t Dan. And those interests weren’t slow motion cinematography.

Gavin was so caught up in the moment with his new pals, his sudden realization that this year of his life would have little to no Dan in it hit him hard. And just like that his eyes started to water. It was just a little, but it was obviously enough for Michael to notice, even if he was the only one who did. 

“Gavin, I know Mrs. Berkeley seems scary, but really her class isn’t bad enough to cry over.” Michael had been talking about the class when he noticed Gavin’s state of distress, so he joked about it. But Gavin hadn’t even been paying attention, and Michael could tell he still wasn’t, so Michael just shut up. He liked Gavin, that was for sure. So he definitely didn’t like this Gavin. He didn’t like seeing Gavin looking like a kicked puppy. And he didn’t like that he felt bad, even though he hadn’t done anything. “I’m sorry Gav,” he said softly, but Gavin shook his head, trying to indicate to Michael that it was nothing, and he was fine.

Even so, he was startled, not a moment later, when he felt arms wrap around him. He turned slightly, to see Michael’s head resting on his shoulder. And he wasn’t quite sure why, but this made him feel worse. Actual tears started streaming down his face, as Michael just kept holding on. 

Now, the others actually noticed Gavin’s distressed state too, as they noticed that Michael had moved from his spot on the couch to comfort Gavin.

“Are you okay?” Barbara asked. She felt obligated, because he was a guest in her house, so she felt like she was at least partially responsible for him.

Gavin just shook his head. 

“What’s up,” Michael cooed in his ear so softly, his breath sent shivers down Gavin’s spine. Gavin just shook it off.

“I just,” Gavin was having trouble speaking through the tears. “I don’t know. I guess I’m homesick. I miss my family, and my house, and I even somehow miss my school. But mostly, I miss Dan.” After saying that, Gavin realized his new friends didn’t know who the hell he was talking about. That thought was punctuated by Barbara asking,

“What, was he your boyfriend, or something?” She was joking, and Gavin could tell. Also, it wasn’t an insult or anything, so he just chuckled a little bit through the tears.

“Shut up,” he said, playfully hitting her leg. “Why does everyone always assume I’m gay?”

“Well, you and Michael are practically sitting in each other’s laps, you’re so close. There’s one reason,” Chris said, causing Michael to blush and let go of Gavin immediately, because he wasn’t one to deny the truth when it was so blatantly brought up like that, so he didn’t want to be the next one to be accused of being gay.

“Last time I checked it wasn’t gay to comfort your friend who’s having a breakdown because they’re literally 5,000 miles from home and haven’t seen their best friend in at least a month or two,” Ray piped up, both because it was true, but mostly because he saw how uncomfortable Michael looked, and wanted to help him out.

“Thanks Ray, but I’m fine,” Gavin said getting up.

“Wait, where are you going,” Barbara asked, as he was already heading through the doorway.

“I gotta get home,” Gavin said, although it was only around six thirty, and he had told Geoff and Griffon he’d be staying until after dinner.

“I thought you said you were fine,” Barbara said, because she could tell he wasn’t leaving because he had to.

“Yeah, I am. I just.. I just gotta go,” Gavin walked out through the hall and into the living room, towards his things, which he had left by the front door. He was then surprised to see that Michael and subsequently Ray had followed him.

“What are you doing,” Gavin asked, starting to pull on his shoes, before picking up his backpack. 

“I just wanted to say sorry-” He started, but didn’t finish, because Gavin cut him off.

“You didn’t do anything, and there’s nothing for you to do. I’m just gonna go home, decompress, and I’ll be fine, and I’ll see you guys Monday.” Gavin picked up his backpack, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

“Dude, calm your tits. I was just going to say I’m sorry you’re feeling so down about being away from home. I’m sure it’s tough.” And although Michael’s tone was more stern, he smiled a soft smile at Gavin, before putting his shoes on too. “Also, Ray and I are going to walk you home.” Upon hearing that, Gavin looked like he was going to protest, but Michael wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “It’s on our way, and my parents wanted me home for dinner anyway. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

Michael was tempted to grab Gavin’s hand as they were about to leave, but thought better of it. He just ended up hooking arms with both Gavin and Ray, forcing them to sort of awkwardly walk sideways out the front door, as Barbara, who had come to see them out, waved her farewell to the three boys.

And linked arm in arm like that, they set off in the exact opposite direction of Michael’s house.


End file.
